This application relates generally to vehicle power systems, and more particularly, to power switching applications.
Vehicles, such as aircraft, typically have a primary power source that is used to provide power to various other vehicle systems. In the event of a fault condition, such as an electrical current exceeding a threshold, it is necessary to protect the various vehicle systems from the fault condition.
An electronic circuit breaker can be used to selectively control a distribution of power to various vehicle systems, and also to protect a vehicle system from a fault condition.
A switch or a plurality of switches can be used in an electronic circuit breaker to provide a switching function and to act as a primary protection from a fault condition. However, in the event of a switch failure, a circuit breaker may no longer be able to protect a vehicle system from a fault condition.
There is a need for a secondary protection for an electronic circuit breaker for use in vehicle power switching applications.